Gamblin Artists Colors
Painting Glossary


This is a glossary of common terms used in the painting guidelines, produced by the Cultural Heritage Branch, Environmental Protection Agency.

Acrylic water-borne (latex) paints
See Latex paints.

Alkyd
A modern synthetic resin widely used in the manufacture of paints and varnishes. Alkyd paints must be thinned and cleaned up with solvent or paint thinner. The terms alkyd paint and oil-based paint are generally used interchangeably.

Binder
Binders help bind the pigment particles together. The most common binder was, and still is, oil. Chalk was sometimes added to bind pigment particles together in water-based paints. Glue and gelatin were other common binders.

Black japan
A black bitumen-based coating traditionally used for decorative painting of timber – particularly floor borders, furniture and ironwork. It may also be found in brown or red.

Casein
Casein, also known as milk paint, was traditionally made with hydrated (slaked) lime, milk and pigment. A strong emulsion paint could be made by adding oil. Additives increased durability.

Distemper
Distemper was traditionally used for interior applications. It consisted of water, glues (one or more different natural glues, gelatine or gum) with whiting as the basic pigment to which other tinting pigments were added.

Enamels
Traditionally a natural resin varnish was added to oil-based paints to provide a hard, more glossy and durable surface known as enamel. Enamels were usually used on exteriors and on surfaces that were required to be hard wearing such as doors, windows, architraves and skirtings.

Epoxies
Epoxies are extremely tough and durable synthetic resins used in some coatings. They are highly resistant to chemicals, abrasion, moisture and alcohols. Epoxies are often used in floor finishes, paints and sealers.

Fish eyes
The presence of craters in a coating each having a small particle of impurity in the centre.

Glazes
Glazes were traditionally made using oil or turpentine with a small amount of pigment and were often part of historic paint treatments.

Japan
See Black japan.

Latex paints
Modern, water-based paints made with a synthetic binder (latex), such as acrylic, vinyl acrylic or styrene acrylic latex. Advantages of latex paints include quick drying time, great strength and water clean up. Latex paints often have very good colour retention with little fading and are available in a complete range of gloss levels.

Oil-based paints
Traditional oil-based paints comprised a linseed oil binder, turpentine thinner or vehicle, colouring pigments and a hiding pigment such as white lead.

Pigment
Pigment provides the colour in paint and makes it opaque. This prevents ultra violet light penetration and the deterioration of the substrate. In traditional paints, white lead (a whitish corrosion product of lead) was most often used to provide opacity. Pigments used in early paints were coarsely and unevenly ground and mixed by hand which provided a finish with subtle unevenness and texture.

Shellac
Shellac is a decorative/protective coating manufactured by melting seedlac by heating or solvents. Seedlac is resin created by lac insects.

Solvent-borne paints (oil-based/alkyd)
A modern, solvent-borne paint comprising of non-volatile oils and resins with thinners. (Alkyds are synthetic, gelatinous resins compounded from acids and alcohol. Soy-based oils are often used in combination with linseed oil. Solvent-borne paints dry hard with a high sheen making them suited to areas of wear and tear.

Stains
Stains are shellacs or varnishes with colourants. The stain colours but does not obscure the grain of the surface.

Tempera
Tempera paints are prepared with pigment, egg yolk or white, and water. They are used almost exclusively for decorative treatments.

Urethanes
Urethane is a collective name for a group of resins or binders that form polyurethanes. They produce a tough and chemical-resistant finish.

Varnish
Traditionally, varnishes including oil, water and spirit types were a popular coating material which formed a solid transparent, protective and decorative film over the substrate.

Vehicle
The fluid that carries the pigment is called the vehicle or medium. Traditionally, turpentine was the vehicle in oil paints and water was used in water-based paints. Other vehicles include milk in casein paints.

Water-based paints
Water-based paints consist of water, pigment and a binder such as hide glue, other natural glues or gums. Usually used on interior plaster surfaces.


  
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